Tata Power DDL to set up 1000 e-vehicle charging stations across Delhi

The company is currently in talks with Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for space to set up charging stations at various locationsDebapriya Mondal | ETEnergyWorld | July 03, 2017, 17:28 IST

New Delhi: Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL), one of the three private power distributors in Delhi, is looking to set up at least 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the national capital in the next five years with an investment of around Rs 100 crore.

“Currently, we are at a discussion stage. But in the next five years we will look to spend around Rs 100 crore for setting up 1,000 charging stations,” Praveer Sinha, Managing Director, Tata Power DDL told ETEnergyWorld.

The company is currently in talks with Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for space to set up charging stations at various locations. Tata Power DDL already has five stations at various locations in its area of operations, which were set up on a pilot basis.

“These are in Civil Lines area, which were set up on a pilot basis to see what kinds of vehicles come and what kind of charging is required. Now, we are looking to create a large scale infrastructure for electric vehicle charging,” Sinha said.

He, however, said electric vehicle charging is a “catch-22 situation” at present. “We do not know at present what kind of demand will be there once we are done setting up the stations. On the other hand, vehicle owners are not sure if there would be enough charging stations once they buy those cars. There has to be balanced growth of both,” he said. Tata Power-DDL has also deployed electric powered vehicles in its maintenance fleet. The e-powered fleet comprises of 42 e-scooters and 8 e-rickshaws.

India looks to become an all electric vehicle country by 2030. The move is expected to reduce pollution and cut costly energy imports. In May, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari launched a pilot project in Nagpur where taxi aggregator OLA has invested more Rs 50 crore in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, starting with 50 plus charging points across four strategic locations in the city